Chapter 33
Shashi stared lovingly at his bride
who was returning his stare with an equally tender look.
"I, Shashi, take you Vidhya, to be
my wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse,
for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from
this day forward until death do us part."
His bride sported her trademark
heart breaking smile which made him fall in love with her all over again.
"Vidhya…………….". The ageing
patriarch was wheezing painfully & Garima visibly flinched & turned
away to hide the pain etched on her face.
Shashi continued to whisper in his
broken voice.
"Vidhya I am sorry I failed you
& Kushi. I was a bad husband & a worse father. All I pray for is that
when I finally meet my maker he doesn't spare me. I hope I am punished
mercilessly for my shortcomings especially for letting down my angel Kushi."
Garima stared at the stiff, dignified
man standing before him. The man who had married her that morning in a simple
ceremony shorn of any extravagance.
"I promise that I will always treat
Kushi as my daughter. I will never make her feel the absence of a mother." She
hesitated & then advanced cautiously towards him & placed a comforting
hand on his weary shoulders. "While I don't purport to be able to replace
Vidhya as a wife & a mother, I promise that I will try my best to at least
alleviate the pain caused by the untimely demise of Di."
Garima wept silently at the bowed
down figure pleading for a respite from his silent & prolonged nightmare.
She had failed & failed miserably. All she had to show for her effort was a
broken house & equally broken spirits.
"Arnav………….." She gasped in pain
& her voice was hoarse. "Promise me that you will always be by Anjali's
side. Though you are much younger you are way stronger than her. Promise me
beta once I am gone you will look after her, protect her. Promise me beta.
Please………………….. "
"Maaa…………………………………………………….." The
desperate scream echoed emptily.
He had let down his mom. He had
failed to protect his Di & worse, been a weak, unworthy spectator once
again allowing history to repeat all over again. He was just a miserable
failure. He wept inconsolably.
Kushi stared at the handsome face
of Arnav contorted with pain, eyes closed in a restless slumber. He had still
not confided in her his fears, his nightmares & all she could do was stare
helplessly at his limp figure drenched in sweat.
"Arnav please help me in helping
you. I can't do this alone without you. Believe me I will do ANYTHING, ANYTHING
to exorcise you of your ghosts, drive away your pain. I promise that I will
always love you. As long as I breathe this heart beats for you. In fact my
thoughts would be with you even after I am long gone from this mortal world. I
promise you all the happiness in the world & beyond. You have the word of
Kushi Kumari Raizada."
Promises. People make them quickly
without thinking of what they are actually signing up for or what would be the
repercussions. It's only later that they realize the burden of the spoken word,
the enormous commitment which comes uninvited when they give their word. But
then it's always sadly a little too late.
Little do they know that words given
in haste always come back to haunt us. While the intention is noble in most of
the cases, promises always extract a heavy price from the person who has made
the promise. In the end all that is left are shattered lives, shattered dreams.
oOo
2010 Karim's Delhi
The uber cool restaurant served to
only increase her nervousness. They have been dating for more than 4 months
& she realized that she was hopelessly, head over heels in love with Shyam.
He was every girl's dream come true. He was handsome, funny, kind, polite, chivalrous
at times & very tender. Most importantly he was extremely patient &
understanding.
She flushed at the memory of last
night when he had tried to kiss her & she had pulled away quickly,
mortified at her own reaction. She was still confused over her behavior. She
was not prudish or did not carry any outdated thoughts about morality but
somehow the attempt at intimacy had made her squirm & she was worried by
this turn of events. It was obvious that Shyam wanted to take their relationship
to the next level but was she ready for such a huge commitment. Every time she
liked a guy her past came back to haunt her. Love she thought bitterly. Was she
ever destined to find that elusive dream ever in her lifetime.
"Kushi………………….."
The soft voice jerked her out of
her pensive musings.
"Kushi I am sorry for what happened
yesterday. I had suffered a breakdown yesterday & your presence was
comforting making me lose my senses momentarily."
She was embarrassed. After the snub
by her he was still apologizing to her as if he had erred while it had been her
mistake.
"Shyam I am sorry. I really don't
know what came over me yesterday. I shouldn't have reacted like that."
He held her hand gently &
pressed it in a reassuring manner.
"No Kushi. Maybe all this is a
little too fast for you. It's quite natural that you need time & space. I
am ready to give you both. I have decided since our fateful meeting during your
fashion show in NIFT that you are my soul mate. But I realize that you need
some breathing space to mull things over. I am ready to wait even if it means
my whole lifetime. Remember Kushi I will always wait for you."
His words only served to make her
feel more miserable. Was she simply incapable of warmth, love? Was she a
replica of her mom she had wondered on many sleepless nights?
"Shyam I know that you got agitated
after watching that news clipping back home. I want to know why it caused you
so much pain. Remember if you consider me your soul mate then you must trust me
& open up to me. All I can remember is that it was about some business
takeover by AR Industries."
Shyam closed his eyes for a few
seconds & when he opened them again she was shocked by the wrathful fury
blazing in those eyes.
"I can't stand the sight of that
B*. First he wrecked my life. Then my sister's. Now he is sabotaging my
business."
He noticed the quizzical expression
on her face & elaborated.
"His sister Anjali fell in love
with me Kushi but I dint. I never liked her. She is just a spoil arrogant
ruthless woman who simply wants her way irrespective of how many lives are
crushed to cater to her whims & fantasies. And her brother Arnav is just
her stooge ready to do her bidding, wrecking people's life without any qualms
to satisfy the twisted desires of his precious Di. When she realized that I was
not ready to acquiesce to her demands she went squealing to her brother. He
tried coercing me into marrying her. When I refused he quietly went behind my
back, made acquaintance with my sister Preethika who is incidentally just a
teenager. She gradually became infatuated with him which goaded him to sleep
with that poor besotted teen. After toying with her feelings for some time he
mercilessly dumped her. By then she was pregnant with his child which he forced
her to abort."
Kushi gaped at him with her mouth
open.
"Not being satisfied with that he
went ahead & wrecked my business. Yesterday's acquisition was another blow
to Shyam Enterprises. We have suffered huge losses thanks to that jerk who used
nefarious means to wrench that deal from us."
He clenched his fists violently.
"I swear Kushi, one of these days I
will kill him. For what he did to me & most of all Preeto."
Kushi was aghast at the emotions
displayed by Shyam. During their entire courtship she had never seen him lose
control or his temper. She couldn't stand his pain. The trauma that that young
girl Preeto had suffered at the hands of that B* made her blood boil. She
caressed his hand gently her face a picture of controlled fury.
"Shyam I will help you in getting
back at that F* B*"
She saw him raise his eyebrow
skeptically. She forestalled him by raising her hand.
"Please Shyam. I have the brains
& the guts required. Fortunately I am in the same industry. I can help you
in avenging your loss by sabotaging HIS business thus getting back at him by
making him taste his own medicine. Make him understand the pain of loss,
financial & emotional."
Shyam shook his head vehemently.
"No Kushi I will NOT I repeat NOT
drag you into this mire. I will not let you near that conniving swine. He will
hurt you badly & I can't stand anything happening to you. It will break
me."
Kushi was touched by his concern
but remained adamant.
"No Shyam. I will not allow anyone to
hurt you. And after hearing about what he did to Preeto I can never ever forgive
him. If you really love me then let me help you. I will do ANYTHING, ANYTHING
for you."
She missed the glint in Shyam's
face before he made his face impassive again. It was only for a split second
but still the triumphant gleam had flitted quickly across his handsome face
which Kushi unfortunately failed to notice.
"Kushi please…………………………."
"No Shyam. Just tell me what I need
to do."
"Well first we need to get you into
AR. That should be the first step. Plant you close to him & then make you
win his confidence."
He bent closer to her & began
to chalk out his plan. Finally Kushi straightened & looked him straight in
his eye.
"Shyam leave it to me. I promise
you that I will bring ASR down. I will make him regret every living second the
injustice that he meted out to Preeto & you. You have the word of Kushi
Kumari Gupta."
oOo
2011 Shanthivan Delhi
Kushi's cheeks were tear streaked.
She touched his face gently & whispered in a low, husky voice.
"Arnav I love you more than my
life. I will never allow anything or anyone to hurt you. EVER. I will do
ANYTHING, ANYTHING to make you happy even if it means my destrtuction. It's a
promise."
She kissed his eyes tenderly.
Promises. People make them quickly
without thinking of what they are actually signing up for or what would be the
repercussions. It's only later that they realize the burden of the spoken word,
the enormous commitment which comes uninvited when they give their word. But
then it's always sadly a little too late.
Little that they know that words
given in haste always come back to haunt us. While the intention is noble in
most of the cases, promises always extract a heavy price from the person who
has made the promise. In the end all that is left are shattered lives,
shattered dreams.
oOo
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